1. Part 5: Cooperative Learning and Culture
Purpose--To identify the highest form of teaching/learning and the importance of creating a classroom culture.

2. Synopsis
Effective teachers begin a lesson with a motivator or attention grabber related to the lesson that is designed to pique students’ curiosity. Once you’ve got them motivated, you can get them to do anything. They will work willingly and eagerly because they want to learn—they have a purpose.
Effective teachers have a set of procedures that govern how support groups function. By teaching students to work cooperatively in groups, you prepare them for the tomorrow’s world. Through cooperative group work, students learn to be self-motivated, self-directed, and procedure oriented.
A major problem facing classroom teachers today is that many students do not know how to work in groups. They have been raised in a culture that is preoccupied with the individual and self- gratification.
Family values and culture are not being passed on because parents are too busy. Today’s youth are acquiring their culture from the media and each other.
Effective teachers create a classroom culture. Effective administrators create a school culture.
Parents and educators have two functions in life. The first is to give students a firm foundation of culture-knowledge, practices, and values. Having done this, we can then encourage them to grow and become anyone or anything they want to be.

3. Major Concepts
1. Effective teachers begin a lesson with a motivator or attention grabber related to the lesson that is designed to pique students’ curiosity.
2. Learning is most effective when it takes place with in a support community of learners.
3. The highest form of teaching occurs when students are:
Working together cooperatively
Solving open-ended problems
Using higher-order thinking skills
4. Effective teachers have procedures that govern how cooperative learning groups function.
5. Teaching students to work cooperatively in groups prepares them for real world experiences and expectations.
6. Culture is a shared set of values based upon the shared knowledge, practices, and beliefs of a group.
7. In today’s society, many families are failing to pass on culture and teach values to their children, resulting in a culture of dysfunctional families.
8. Effective teachers create a classroom culture.
9. Our functions as teachers are to give our students a firm cultural foundation and then to give
them the encouragement to fulfill their dreams.

4. Opening Questions 1. How do/would you typically begin a lesson?
2. Have you used cooperative learning groups in your classrooms?
What was successful about it?
What was unsuccessful?
3. How do you define culture?
4. Who is responsible for teaching culture to children?

5. Follow Up ???
Share one strong motivator you’ve used to grab students’ attention at the beginning of a lesson. How did this contribute to making your lesson a successful one?
What are the benefits of a structured cooperative learning activity? Now turn to pp and 261 of The First Days of School and see if there are any additional benefits you can add to your list.
Were there any benefits you discussed that were not listed in the book? Is there anything you could add or change to make your cooperative group work more successful? (pp )
Do you have procedures for working in cooperative groups? What are they? (p. 259)
Discuss the culture you see your students growing up in. How can you enhance this by creating a classroom/school culture?

6. Part 6: Lesson Mastery
Purpose--To demonstrate how to design lessons to help students reach mastery.

7. Synopsis
Effective teachers design lessons to help students reach mastery. They provide students with a study guideline at the beginning of an assignment that tells students what they are to accomplish or master by the end of the assignment.
A criterion referenced test is used to measure lesson mastery. In a criterion referenced test, every question refers back to a pre-stated criteria. Used as a diagnostic instrument, the test tells you if a student needs corrective help. When a question is missed, it signals the teacher that the student has not mastered the criteria. The teacher can then remediate or prescribe instruction to assist the student. Conversely, if the student demonstrates mastery on the test, enrichment activities can be assigned.
The main role of a teacher is to help every student reach the highest possible level of achievement.

8. Major Concepts
1. Students must be given a list of criteria or objectives at the beginning of their assignment telling them what they are responsible for accomplishing.
2. Begin criterion or objectives with verbs that promote higher order thinking.
3. Steps to creating a study guideline:
Identify what you want the students to accomplish.
Write it down as a single sentence.
Write in simple language.
Duplicate sentences and give to students.
4. The only reason for giving a test is to find out whether the students can demonstrate mastery of the criteria. With test results, teachers can determine whether enrichment or remediation is necessary.
5. Test questions must correspond to pre-stated objectives or learning criterion.
6. Grading on a curve can be damaging to students’ success.

9. Opening questions
1. What are reasons for writing a test? 2. How is a test written? 3. How do you determine how many questions you will write on a test?

10. Follow Up ???
Review the steps in creating an effective assignment or study guideline. (pp )
Dr. Wong believes that grading on a curve is “by far the most damaging thing we’ve done to
students in education.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Tests should be used as a diagnostic tool to tell you if a student needs corrective help. What
are some examples of remediation that you use when a student needs assistance? (pp , )
The main role of a teacher is to help every single student reach the highest possible level of
achievement. As a teacher, what do you do to address this? As a school, what is done?

11. Activity Due February 16th
Using the “Steps to Creating an Effective Assignment,” write an assignment or study guide for an upcoming lesson. (pp ).
25 pts
2. Write the criterion referenced test for your assignment above. (pp )